9.7 Preventing Synchronization Loops for Identity Manager Drivers

If you have three or more clusters in your business continuity cluster, you should set up synchronization for the User objects and Cluster Resource objects in a manner that prevents Identity Manager synchronization loops. Identity Manager synchronization loops can cause excessive network traffic and slow server communication and performance.

For example, in a three-cluster business continuity cluster, an Identity Manager synchronization loop occurs when Cluster One is configured to synchronize with Cluster Two, Cluster Two is configured to synchronize with Cluster Three, and Cluster Three is configured to synchronize back to Cluster One. This is illustrated in Figure 9-1 below.

Figure 9-1 Three-Cluster Identity Manager Synchronization Loop

A preferred method is to make Cluster One an Identity Manager synchronization master in which Cluster One synchronizes with Cluster Two, and Cluster Two and Cluster Three both synchronize with Cluster One. This is illustrated in Figure 9-2 below.

Figure 9-2 Three-Cluster Identity Manager Synchronization Master

You could also have Cluster One synchronize with Cluster Two, Cluster Two synchronize with Cluster Three, and Cluster Three synchronize back to Cluster Two as illustrated in Figure 9-3.

Figure 9-3 Alternate Three-Cluster Identity Manager Synchronization Scenario

In a single-tree scenario with a four-cluster business continuity cluster, Cluster One is an Identity Manager synchronization master in which Cluster One synchronizes data with each of the peer clusters, as illustrated in Figure 9-4.

Figure 9-4 Single-Tree, Four-Cluster Identity Manager Synchronization Scenario